1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage box such as a console box installed in vehicles, particularly, automobiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Console boxes installed in automobiles have been provided with an inner lid on the inside of the console box door. FIG. 6 shows a conventional structure of a console box of this type (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 115444/1983). In a console box 10 as shown in FIG. 6, a recess 14 is formed in an inner lid 12 so that small articles can be stored in the space between the inner lid 12 and a console box door 16. The inner lid 12 has at one end thereof a thin-walled hinge portion 18 formed therein, and an end of this thin-walled hinge portion 18 is fixed to a box main body 22 by screws 20, thereby mounting the inner lid 12 to the box main body 22 in such a manner that the inner lid 12 can be opened and closed when rotated about the axis of rotation 18A on the thin-walled hinge portion 18. The console box door 16 is mounted to a cylindrical portion 24, formed in the inner lid 12, by a pin 26 passing through the cylindrical portion 24 so that the console box door 16 can be opened and closed when rotated about the pin 26. The console box door 16 has a magnet 28 impregnated therein. The inner lid 12 has a piece of iron 30 which can be attracted by the magnet 28, so that the console box door 16 and the inner lid 12 can be brought into engagement with each other in such a manner that they can be integrally opened and closed when rotated about the axis of rotation 18A on the thin-walled hinge portion 18. A lock member 32 is provided for bringing the inner lid 12 into engagement with the box main body 22, so that the console box door 16 and the inner lid 12 can be integrally brought into engagement with the box main body 22.
When the console box door 16 alone is lifted upward from its closed position shown in FIG. 6, since the inner lid 12 is kept in engagement with the box main body 22 by the lock member 32, the magnet 28 is separated from the piece of iron 30, thereby allowing only the console box door 16 to be rotated about the pin 26 and thus to be opened. This makes it possible to store small articles in the recess 14. When the lock member 32 is operated to disengage the console box door and the inner lid from the box main body 22, and, thereafter, when the disengaged members are rotated by lifting the console box door 16 upward as viewed in FIG. 6, the inner lid 12 and the console box door 16 are integrally opened by virtue of the attraction between the magnet 28 and the piece of iron 30. This makes it possible to store small articles in the box main body 22.
The above-described console box 10 is constructed such that the inner lid 12 is mounted to the box main body 22 and the console box door 16 is mounted to this inner lid 12 by the pin 26, thus mounting the console box door 16 indirectly to the box main body 22. However, this construction provides poor fitting of the console box door 16 in comparison with a console box door 16 which is directly mounted to the box main body 22. In addition, since the console box door 16 is mounted to the inner lid 12, a notch 34 as shown in FIG. 6 has to be provided in order to keep the console box door 16, in the opening action, from interfering with the inner lid 12 which is closed. Since this arrangement creates a relatively large gap between the console box door 16 and the box main body 22, the exterior appearance of the console box 10 may be spoiled.
These problems can be solved by providing a thin-walled hinge portion 36, as showin FIG. 7, which is formed at one end of the console box door 16, to mount the console box door 16 directly to the box main body 22 with a screw 38, and by mounting the inner lid 12 to this console box door 16 by a pin 40 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 110551/1983). With such a structure, however, when the console box door 16 is rotated to open or close the door 16 alone, the pin 40 is also rotated about the axis of rotation 36A on the thin-walled hinge portion 36. This may cause vibration of the inner lid 12 when the console box door 16 is being opened or closed while the inner lid 12 is kept closed. Consequently, in the event that the console box door 16 happens to be rotated from its opened position while the inner lid in the closed state is used as, for example, a cup rest, there is a risk that the inner lid 12 may vibrate and the content of the cups may get spilled.
The art of providing an inner lid in a console box so as to use the inner lid as a cup rest is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48525/1977, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 393000/1985, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 21299/1985, and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 156046/1983. However, these proposals have encountered the following problems. The operation required for using the inner lid as a cup rest is complicated (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48525/1977 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 39300/1985). There is a risk that the content of the cups may be spilled because of vibration of the inner lid when the console box door vibrates owing to factors such as vibration of the vehicle (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 39300/1985). With the proposal disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 21299/1985, the inner lid can not be opened integrally with the console box door during normal use, and the operation during normal use is complicated. With the proposal disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 156046/1983, since, the inner lid is used as a cup rest, it is adapted to support cups at a location which is above the console box door opened through 180 degrees and which is remote from persons seated in the driver's seat and the adjacent front seat, this arrangement provides poor usability; in addition, the structure is complicated, requiring high production costs.